step by step the longest march can be won

Ballots have just arrived in mailboxes of registered voters in the city of Santa Barbara. This election season is a rare one in which there is very little on the ballot, except for the race for mayor and 3 city councilmembers in the city. It’s an “off year” and that usually means low voter turnout. It’s the kind of election where those who vote are likely to be a good deal older, more financially comfortable, and conservative than the population as a whole. And so it’s the kind of election where rightwing candidates, who would have little chance in a high turnout year, can win. And that’s made more likely this year, when there are more progressive candidates than there are seats to fill.

Moreover, one of the candidates running for re-election is, Councilmember Frank Hotchkiss, former chair of the county GOP. Incumbents usually stand a better chance than challengers, so if the voter turnout is typical of off years, we’ll have another 4 years with Frank. If so, we need to recognize that he represents, in a rather sweet, amiable way, the most retrograde politics in the USA. Here’s a sampling of his publicly aired thoughts:

The city general plan shouldn’t be guided by concerns about climate change (like plan-ning for ways to conserve energy, reduce emissions, promote public transit): “Conclusions and proposals based on climate change have no place in the general plan update as they are speculative at best,” he said.

The city should not try to ban plastic bags: “As for the serious charge that plastic bags kill sea life, the good news is that plastic cannot be digested. Polyethylene is nontoxic and indigestible by birds and sea mammals. It passes right through them without effect,” he said. Of course, given the evident popularity of the ban, he wisely voted for it despite his belief that the animals just poop them away.

Mr. Hotchkiss ran initially with a declared hope to offer gang members this choice: "Get out of the gang, or get out of Santa Barbara.". This time he’s more mellow: “I will… encourage people to reject the violent ethos of gang membership and turn to a more productive and satisfying way of life..”

One of the main reasons he wants to continue to serve us: “Four years is more time to address the unsolved problem of transients, vagrants and indigents on our streets. We should insist that they help themselves as we help them on their journey forward.”

Mr. Hotchkiss, as you can see, has lots of street smarts. That was evident, in a public meeting called to deal with local patterns of police profiling of minority youth, when he declared: “there are some universal experiences that sometimes we relate to perhaps our color, or our stature, or our age that in fact are not related at all. I can assure you that no matter what color you are, when you see those flashing lights suddenly come on in the rearview mirror of your car, your heart is in your mouth. So please don't think that that's because of what you look like at all, it's for all of us”. Members of the audience were not enthusiastic about his insights at the time.

Frank Hotchkiss is entitled to his beliefs, even when contradicted by science as well as social reality. And maybe it’s a good idea to have at least one council member who speaks for what we currently label as the “tea party”. But if I were a member of that party, I might feel that Hotchkiss lacks the courage of his convictions. As election day approaches, he tends to vote for the things he previously was denouncing. And if I were a more rational conservative, I’d be pretty embarrassed by his public presence.

So, if you were wondering whether to vote, or to contribute time and money to alternative candidates, consider that non-participation is essentially a vote for Frank Hotchkiss—since the folks who like the sound of his voice always do turn out.

But who to vote for? The problem is that there are four solidly liberal, environmentally conscious candidates running for three seats. A similar situation 4 years ago split the liberal vote, and Republican leaning candidates were elected, including Hotchkiss. This time, the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party Central Committee tried to avoid such a split vote. They listened to most of the Democratic candidates seeking endorsement, and took an early initiative to endorse a slate of 3. It’s a well balanced slate including veteran incumbent Bendy White, long time progressive public official Gregg Hart, and a new young candidate, Megan Diaz Alley, whose personal experience and commitment is to the renters, working people, minorities and women all of whom are presently quite under-represented in local government.

I think Megan’s decision to run, the energy and dedication she’s been showing on the campaign trail, and the support she’s gaining from those sectors of the community who often feel left out of local politics gives all more reason to vote—and to join the campaign.

Every election helps determine the future of the town. Take a look at Megan’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MeganDiazAlleyForSantaBarbaraCityCouncil2013

Let me know what you think about all this! And if you like this post, please share it!

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About

Dick Flacks here...sociology professor emeritus at UCSB. Budget cuts mean that I can't continue my annual course on political sociology. Maybe a blog will be a space for me to continue to ruminate and pontificate. And maybe (as a veteran teacher on these matters) I can offer some ways of thinking about what's happening nationally and locally that will be useful, as we struggle to make sense of the tortured complexities of these times.
I've been a leftwing activist for more than 50 years. What we've been struggling for all these years is full democracy--to increase the opportunities for people to have real voice in the decisions that affect them. Step by step over these years we've made some gain...but it is a long march, and one that never ends. The big barrier to democracy in our society is the concentrated power of corporations. At the same time, democracy is undermined by the felt powerlessness of people in their daily lives--the persistent belief that our problems are only our own personal concern. It's a strong cultural theme--such individualism--constantlly reinforced by mass media and everyday circumstance. But the current big crisis of the economy maybe makes it more possible for more people to understand that we've got to have social reform and economic reform. So my writing here is aimed at helping us figure out what to think and act on that so that we can hope for new democratic possibilities. WE'll be talking about the local and the national.
The blog name comes from an old labor union hymn:
Step by step the longest march can be won. Many stones can form an arch...singly none. And by union what we will can be accomplished still. Drops of water turn a mill, singly none, singly none.
For 27 years I've had a weekly radio show on KCSB (91.9 fm. www.kcsb.org) It's called the Culture of Protest. It's comes from my fascination with music and social movements. I collect 'political' and 'protest' music and that's what we play each week (Thursdays 6-7 pm). So sometimes here we'll share and talk about that.
I'm worried about one thing about the blogosphere. And that's the way that some people use the blog comment space for anonymous nastiness. I'm sick of the kind of political blather that assaults the motives of others, and sees dark conspiracy behind every thing one doesn't like. This kind of stuff is helping to poison the political atmosphere. So I'm going to strive for a civil tone to whatever interaction may happen on this blogsite.